Our First Hiking Day



We met up with our Backroads group at about 9 am - after some quick introductions, we hopped into 2 vans and headed to the Carl Wynn Nature Center. Our first hike was with a naturalist named Nikka who talked a lot about the plants we would be seeing during our time in Alaska. 



She wanted us to know about several poisonous plants we should avoid such as "Cow Parsnip" which is extremely common, but the sap from it can cause severe skin reactions when exposed to the sun. 



Nikka acknowledged that the land we were hiking on was originally inhabited by Dena'ina, an indigenous hunter gatherer people who arrived in Alaska sometime between 1000 and 1500 years ago. 

The naturalists who work at the Nature Center work with the Dena'ina people to educate people about all the ways the Dena'ina used various plants to treat illness and other conditions. 







We then had a picnic lunch and got a first taste of all the wonderful locally sourced food we will get to enjoy. Here are two fearless leaders, Lauren and Kailey who are holding mead, an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey and water. We got to try two different kinds of mead made with local ingredients. 





After lunch, we drove to Inspiration Ridge Preserve and spent the afternoon hiking overlooking the Kachemak Bay. 

From the overlook, we got a look at the famous "Homer Spit," a 4.5 mile natural land formation that juts into the Kachemak Bay. We are staying at the Lands End Resort located at the very end of Homer Spit. 



After our day of hiking, we had an amazing dinner at a local restaurant that featured all kinds of local fare including salmon and halibut cakes which were delicious! A great first day. 




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